Antisepticeye and Bloody
by Bookiebook
Summary: When Jack and Anti move in with their new roommate, they find that she is, or rather they are, more than the two bargained for. Meet Emily, a character with a similar problem. No romance, just weird. Mild language. Yes, this is prewritten. I started writing long before I decided to share. I chose the name Emily because I like it, not because of "Emily Wants to Play".
1. Emily

Jack

I pulled the first of three boxes of equipment out of the car's backseat and closed the door with my foot. Looking up at the new apartment building, I sighed. The new place was on the third floor. The movers with the rest of my stuff would be here tomorrow, but I didn't trust them with my computer and recording stuff, along with a few of the more fragile fan gifts. These boxes were full of things I definitely did not want broken in a moving van. That was why I'd borrowed my friend's car to take them. Driving in Ireland wasn't easy, but I'd managed.

I wondered what my new roommate was like. I knew it was a girl named Emily who was looking for someone to share with. Anti had deemed her alone worthy, and I didn't want to live somewhere he didn't like.

I walked into the building with the box and extended a single finger from underneath the box to hit the elevator button. The elevator dinged and opened. Up we go, I thought, as I put the box on the floor and selected the third floor.

When I arrived, I walked down the hall a bit and found the door marked 316. Balancing the box on my knee, I knocked.

The door was opened a moment later by a young woman with shoulder length blonde hair and soft grey eyes. She smiled at me and said, "You must be the new roommate. Come in."

She stood aside and I stepped into the apartment. "The living room's a mess," she said, as she closed the door. I looked around. The couch looked quite comfortable, but there were books everywhere, and an errant jacket was draped over one arm. A few DVDs were scattered on the coffee table and the small set of shelves the TV sat on. "I didn't think you were coming until tomorrow."

"Well, that's when the moving van arrives," I said, as I set my box on the coffee table.

"What's in there?"

"Just my computer and stuff."

"Oh."

"My name is Sean, by the way."

She smiled at me and held out her hand, which I shook. "Pleased to meet you, Sean," she said pleasantly. "My name is Emily."

Her accent somewhat surprised me. "Are you American?"

She chuckled. "Yep. Ohioan by birth, but I moved here to go to college."

"Are you still in college?"

"Nope. But I stuck around because Ireland is so much prettier. Ohio is known for corn for a reason. You?"

"Went once, quit, went again, graduated, and never used my degree."

"Huh. Me neither." She gestured towards a doorway. "Kitchen's over there. Keeping it stocked will be my job." Waving at a hallway, she continued. "Bathroom's at the end of the hall. Your room's on the right, mine's on the left. I hope you don't mind hearing the French horn."

"What?"

She shrugged. "I play French horn professionally, and I have to practice. If you mind, I can practice elsewhere, but I prefer practicing here."

"I don't mind you practicing if you don't mind me shouting."

"What do you mean?"

"I have a YouTube channel that I live off of, and I tend to shout a lot."

"I don't mind. The walls are thick, and I'm used to tuning out noises. Besides, I mostly wanted a roommate to keep things from being so darn quiet around here."

"Okay." I was a bit relieved that she didn't know about my channel. I wasn't fond of the idea of living with someone who watched my videos. It made things slightly uncomfortable.

Emily then offered to help me move in. We went back down to the car and each grabbed a box. I took the heavier one. Emily's arms were quite twiggy.

In fact, everything about her was twiggy. She had long, thin arms, legs, and torso. Even her fingers were long and skinny, and her hands almost reminded me of spiders.

Emily talked the whole elevator ride, making sure I was okay with each thing she had been worried about. She had a hedgehog, she tended to talk to herself, she zoned out occasionally. Nothing was a big deal, but apparently her last roommate moved out because she found her annoying, and now Emily was slightly insecure.

I talked about my channel and the various things I would be doing in the apartment, such as locking my door while recording and, of course, a lot of yelling swear words. She was okay with anything I did, as long as I didn't leave food where she might step on it, which seemed reasonable.

When we got back to the apartment, I asked if she was okay with the vlog I was planning on doing the next day, after I'd gotten all my furniture moved in. She said that would be fine.

I spent the rest of the day setting up. I didn't have my desk yet, but I recorded my videos regardless. I got a pleasant surprise when I started uploading. With the new Internet, it would take an instant to get the videos up. When I commented, Emily nodded. "I'm used to really fast Internet," she explained.

Dinner was a pizza Emily ordered online. She liked pineapple, but she got a pizza that was half plain cheese. She knew not many people liked pineapple. Joke's on her, though. This was the first time I had ever tried pineapple, and I actually liked it.

I was on my third slice, and Emily was almost done with her second. Suddenly, she groaned and dropped the pizza to hold her head in both hands.

"Emily?" I asked. "Are you okay?"

Emily stayed quiet for a moment with her hands pressed against her temples. Then she looked up at me. Her eyes were wide, and her voice was quiet and hurried.

"Don't run. Don't try to hide. She'll find you. Keep her out of the kitchen. And whatever you do, don't make her mad. She's killed bef-"

Emily cut off as she cried out in pain and pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. I was starting to get a little scared. "Who? Emily, who are you talking about?"

"Her. Be careful. I don't-" She groaned, and her breathing became ragged and shallow. She began to shake as if she was cold. I tried to put my hand on her shoulder, but at my touch, she gave a little shriek and jumped away, her hands still on her eyes.

A moment later, her breath suddenly eased. She stopped shaking and sat still, her hands still pressed against her eyelids.

"Emily?" I said, tentatively.

A low chuckle came out of her mouth. It was richer and darker than what I had heard a couple of times. And when Emily raised her head, I noticed that her eyes were suddenly a bright, sky blue.


	2. Her

Bloody

Poor guy. He looked quite pale, though that might have been his normal color. He was Irish, after all.

"Emily isn't here right now," I explained patiently.

"What do you mean?" He seemed wary, uncertain. He didn't understand.

I stood, startling him, and held out my hand. "I don't believe we've met. I'm afraid I don't have a name, but Emily just calls me Bloody."

He shook my hand after a moment's hesitation. "Sean," he replied.

I smiled at him, which seemed to scare him a little. He needed to learn to trust me. After all, he was our roommate now. I had my methods of gaining trust; now would be a good time to use one.

I turned and walked along the couch. Sean started to say something, but I stopped at the end of the coffee table and picked up a deck of cards.

The kitchen, I thought. Emily always tried to keep me away. Too many knives, or so she claimed. She must have warned Sean as best she could while she held me off. He'd thought that was where I was headed. He couldn't have stopped me if he tried.

I walked back to him and gave him my sweetest smile. "Know any good card games?" I asked.

A few minutes later, we had been playing a game of Stealing Bundles on the couch. He was being rather quiet.

"So," I began, attempting to start conversation. I could tell already that this would be awkward. I'd never talked to anyone except Emily. "What did she say about me?"

He shrugged, still nervous. "She just said to be careful." He glanced from his cards to me, unsure how I would respond.

"What if I told you to be careful around her?"

He frowned. "She's been very nice, and I can't imagine her hurting anyone."

"She's done it before." He seemed caught off-guard, so I continued. "She told you not to make me angry, didn't she?"

"Well, yes…"

I snorted, still smiling. "Her anger is far worse than mine, and much more common. It takes me months to be angry with someone." A memory flashed through my mind. A push, a scream. Triumph. "She is unpredictable," I continued. "Unstable. She's still recovering from grief, and I'm helping her all I can. I brought you here. I hoped she'd feel better with someone besides me around." My smile became wry.

"And what are you?"

The question was not one I had anticipated, and he must have seen that, because he pressed on. "Are you a personality? A weird mind thing? What?"

I chuckled at him. "Do you really think we have all the answers? An alternate personality is a possibility, but I don't think they can do what I can." Smirking, I stole his bundle.

He hesitated, slightly scared, then stole it back with his own card, taking my bundle along with it. I laughed.

"Are you really so afraid of me that you don't want to beat me in a game for fear of what I would do?" I asked after I finished laughing.

He shrugged, embarrassed. I laughed again, long and loud.

He ended up winning the round. I laughed at how different our bundles were in size and at how often they changed hands. He seemed more relaxed now. I began to shuffle for another round, relishing the feeling of having someone else to play with, when the pain started.

It grew from the place just behind my ear where Emily slept. She had been trying to come back the whole time, but she was stronger now, having slept a while. She fought harder and harder, and the pain increased. I pressed my hand against my ear, trying to get rid of the pain.

"Bloody?" I looked up. Sean actually looked concerned.

"Just remember," I told him, as the pain increased. "Be careful with Emily. I'll be back, don't worry." I tried to give him a smile, but while I was distracted, the pain finally knocked me out, and the world went black as I fell asleep.


	3. Killed

Jack

Emily looked up again, but this time, her eyes were back to grey, and she looked terrified.

"Are you alright?" She said immediately.

"Yeah, I'm fine. She didn't want to hurt me at all. We talked awhile, played some card games, and then you came back. Why? Has she hurt people before?"

"She killed my best friend."

The answer struck me speechless. When I found my voice, all I could say was, "Why?"

"I don't know. She was angry, that much I could work out. She wouldn't talk about it afterwards." Emily bit her lip, clearly still scared. "It was the first time she ever took control. I didn't even realize she was there before that. Kathy and I were on the roof of her apartment, and we went too close to the edge. I blacked out for two seconds, max. When I came to, I was standing at the edge with my hands outstretched, and Kathy was falling. Then I heard Bloody talking in my head. She gave me a story to tell the police. She said to tell them that I turned my back on Kathy while we were discussing something depressing, and when I turned back around, she had jumped."

"They believed that?"

"Well, Kathy had been acting funny. Said someone had been following her. We thought it was nothing. Too many scary stories and late nights. But it made her 'suicide' believable."

I sat still on the couch, unable to believe my ears. Bloody had seemed okay. A little weird, but definitely not insane. I didn't think she was capable of killing anyone. Still, Emily didn't seem to be kidding.

What did I know about Emily, anyways? According to Bloody, Emily was more dangerous. She got mad more easily. What would Emily do, though? Definitely not kill. Despite what Bloody said, Emily seemed no more dangerous than a fly.

Who was right? How long would it take to find out?

Then I remembered one thing Bloody had mentioned.

"Bloody said a personality couldn't do what she could. What can she do?"

"She can leave the body. I know it sounds crazy, but she can. She visits my dreams when I let her. She leaves when I'm asleep, wanders the streets awhile, and returns before I wake up to tell me what she's seen. She can't interact with anything, though." Emily sighed, finally calming. "Sometimes I think people are safest when I'm asleep. She can't kill anyone."

Something occurred to me. "How do you know Bloody killed Kathy if you blacked out?"

"She told me so. That night. She said Kathy deserved it. I didn't believe her."

"Didn't believe that Bloody killed her, or..."

"Didn't believe that Kathy deserved it. She was way too sweet. She would never deserve anything like that. And she was the only friend I had."

We sat in silence for a moment. Then Emily said, "I'm sorry, by the way. For bringing you here. If you want to leave, it's okay."

"No," I said, though I wasn't sure why. "I want to stay. Maybe I can help."

"I doubt it," Emily replied, smiling. "But thanks."

Emily cleaned up the pizza while I uploaded the second video for the day. Then she went to bed. It was early, but she had a rehearsal in the morning.

I stayed up as usual. It was one of the things I had confirmed was okay with Emily. She didn't care. She slept like a log, apparently.


	4. Night

Bloody

Out at last! I loved these nighttime excursions. I couldn't touch anything, true, but I didn't have to deal with the consistent headache of keeping Emily back long enough to play a game of solitaire like I normally did when I got control.

Stepping through the door into the hall, I considered my options. I could go out, I supposed, but there was nothing to do. Maybe there was a play or something. I should really ask Emily to start letting me know when she saw a play advertised.

I could see what the new roommate was doing. Sean, he said his name was. Yeah, I'll do that.

I walked through his door into his room. He had his computer set up already, and he was browsing what looked like YouTube comments, responding to most of them.

He suddenly seemed to prick up. His head whipped towards me. I kept still, knowing he couldn't see me. What had gotten his attention?

Then I heard it. A sort of rattling coming from Emily's room.

I laughed out loud at his expression. I guess we should have warned him that the hedgehog woke up at night. The rattling was the water bottle hitting the cage while the hedgehog drank.

I'd forgotten people could hear me, even if they couldn't see me. "Emily?" Sean called, concerned.

Giving up, I forced myself visible. "Don't worry," I said reassuringly. "The rattling's just the hedgehog in his cage."

"Bloody, what the fuck?" Sean yelled. Jesus, he was loud.

"Sean, shush," I scolded him, still smiling. "You'll wake up Emily. I was only curious as to what you do when you stay up."

"What if I was naked?"

"I would have left. I've seen naked men before. Emily had a boyfriend for a while. It's not that big of a deal."

"Get out of my room," Sean roared. I smiled and vanished.

I walked out through the door while Sean tried to figure out where I'd gone..

Bored, I walked back to Emily and slipped back in to sleep.


	5. Basil

Jack

I slept surprisingly well that night, despite the fact that a possibly murderous personality thing could apparently get into my room from across the hall. When I woke up the next morning, Emily was already at rehearsal, so I got dressed and walked to the kitchen to see if there was breakfast. I found cereal sitting on the table and got some milk from the fridge.

After breakfast, I got ready for the moving van to arrive with all my stuff. Emily got home and shut herself in her room to stay out of the way.

The van got there, and I spent the next half-hour instructing two guys where to put all my shit. The standing desk goes there. The bookshelves go on the other side of the room. Put that box here, it's just foam pads to put up. Once I was moved in, I let Emily know I was starting the vlog. After all, everyone who watched my channel would want to see the new place. Emily had agreed to appear.

I started in my room, showing the new setup and the room in general. I went to the hall, mentioned the bathroom just down the hall, and knocked on the closed door of Emily's room, half scared Bloody would answer. But Emily opened the door and said hi, as planned, and I moved on.

I showed the rather messy living room and the kitchen, which was cleaner, then returned to my room and wrapped up. Turning off the camera, I went to Emily's room to ask for help with the foam pads to put up on the walls.

The pads were much easier than normal to put up, thanks to Emily's help. When we finished, it was lunchtime, so we returned to the kitchen and made sandwiches.

"I heard a weird sound last night," I mentioned casually, trying to confirm what Bloody had told me.

"What sound?" Emily asked, oblivious.

"Sort of a rattling," I replied.

"Oh that was just my hedgehog." Emily remained cheerful. "When he drinks from his water bottle, he jostles it against his cage, and it rattles. Nothing to worry about. Which reminds me," she continued, "you haven't met Basil yet."

"Basil?"

"It's a family tradition to name pets after herbs. Hey, it's better than my grandpa. He named the barn cats after sports, mostly because if he came across one, he would kick it."

"Aw, poor cats!"

"They learned to stay out of his way!" Emily said, laughing.

After lunch, I met recorded the second video of the day and Emily made me wash my hands before I met her hedgehog. He was adorable, but prickly. She went out to eat dinner that night, leaving me to manage alone.

Microwave meal it is.

I went to Twitter while I ate, and saw a bit of buzz about my new apartment. The vlog wouldn't be up until tomorrow, but people were already wondering if I had a roommate. Mark texted, asking if I was settled in. I said I was, and we got into a conversation about the apartment and Emily. Mark warned me that a female roommate meant a new ship, but I already knew that would be a thing.

He asked about Anti, and I said he was behaving just fine, but he would probably show up soon. Mark asked if I'd told Emily about him, and I realized I hadn't yet. Anti probably would show up soon, wanting to meet the new person. Fortunately, Emily had Bloody, so Anti would be easier to explain to her than someone else. It would certainly be easier than explaining to Mark had been. That was an awkward conversation.

Then I heard the door close, and a voice call softly, "Sean, I know you're here."

I froze. That wasn't Emily. It was Bloody.


	6. Allegations

Bloody

"Sean," I called, "we need to talk."

Silence. I waited. Eventually, he emerged warily from the kitchen.

"Hey," I said. "Card game?"

He hesitated, but agreed.

Partway through the round, I asked, "So, what did Emily say?"

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Sean, I'm not stupid. I know you two were talking about me after I left." I added a pair of threes to my bundle while I spoke. "I want to know what Emily had to say. I wish she could have these conversations with me around so I can defend myself from false allegations, but that is physically impossible." I smiled over my cards. "So I have to settle with responding to said allegations. Your turn."

He sat silently for a few moments. "Did you kill a girl?"

"Yes."

"Kathy."

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Oh, Emily didn't tell you that?"

"Tell me what?" He looked confused.

"Let me guess. She called Kathy her 'best friend'."

"Uh, yeah?"

I laughed. I still could not believe Emily had thought Kathy was her friend. "Emily wasn't Kathy's 'friend'. She was her 'toy'. Kathy had no friends."

"What do you mean?"

"The two tortured each other. Kathy saw all her friends as nothing more than things. She would start with isolation. Cut them off from other friends, force them into fights with their families, break up their relationships. Within a few weeks, they would depend entirely on her. Then she would guilt them into doing whatever she wanted, all the while convincing them that she was an innocent little angel. She would hurt them in so many ways, but as soon as they were no longer useful, she would leave them in a puddle of their own tears. It nearly happened to Emily.

"Emily soon realized what was going on. She got scared and created me. She didn't realize it, of course, but I was helping her long before she realized I existed. I tried to persuade her to get rid of Kathy, but that squid just held on all the tighter. So I took care of it, the only way I knew how."

"You pushed her off a building," Sean said, stealing my bundle.

Bloody pursed her lips. "It's a bit more complicated than that. It's one thing to hide a body. It's another to hide a murder. I killed her, yes, but it took a while to make it look like suicide."

"What did you do?"

"Exactly what I did to you last night. I followed her around at night, letting her see me peeking around corners. She'd call the police, but no one was there. Soon, she would barely leave the house at night, and after a few weeks, she could have been medically diagnosed as paranoid. I didn't even have to do anything anymore. She saw me when I wasn't there. But the more I scared her, the tighter she held to my Emily. So I killed to free her."

Sean stared at me, aghast. "I can see how you would hate Kathy for what she did, but killing her?"

I shrugged and lay down a card. "There was no other way."

Sean was silent as he picked up the card I put down and added it to his bundle. Then he asked, "What do you mean 'the two tortured each other'?"

I laughed. "Emily wasn't exactly blameless. She was just less subtle." I shook my head, smiling, as images of blood and bruises whirled through my head. "I remember them. So many cuts and bumps, which they both claimed were accidents. Only Emily was aware that they were her fault. She would carelessly wave a knife in the hopes of clipping Kathy's arm. She would trip and pull Kathy down with her. Hell, one time Emily blundered into her, pushing her down a hill and breaking her wrist. I laughed hard that day."

I still chuckled at the mere memory. "Kathy never suspected a thing. Emily was way too 'sweet' to do anything like that."

Sean frowned. Something was bothering him. "Emily said something similar about Kathy."

"Emily is still mourning what she blames herself for. Her judgement about her dead friend is not the most reliable. Besides, Kathy was manipulative, but I still have to applaud her. She was good at earning loyalty. At times, even Emily doubted anything was wrong."

"When you said to be careful around Emily," Sean said carefully, "did you mean that she would hurt me?"

The pain in my head was back, but I had to finish. "Actually, I meant not to hurt her. She's recovering, and not doing well. She could grow to dislike someone fast. She has mood swings sometimes. Lately, she seems to be more in control of herself, but take care of her." I groaned and held my head, blacking out.


	7. Sweet

Jack

She was too 'sweet' to do that, I thought. The friendship between Emily and Kathy did not seem healthy. But then I reminded myself that maybe I couldn't trust Bloody. She didn't exactly seem like the best source either. For all I knew, she was lying

In a way, she reminded me of Anti. She just wanted to protect Emily. She was just subtler about it.

All this ran through my head as Emily looked up, eyes grey again. She seemed confused as to why she was sitting on the couch with a card in her hand, and why I was sitting next to her with two. Then she dropped the card, horrified.

"I did it again, didn't I?" she asked, scared.

"What's the last thing you remember?" I asked, trying to figure out when she switched.

"Walking down the sidewalk. I went to eat at a place just down the street, and I black out when I got in front of the building. It was so sudden. I didn't have time to react. What happened?"

"Bloody walked in the door and said we needed to talk." I suddenly remembered what we had been talking about. "What was Kathy actually like?"

Emily frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The way Bloody talked about her, she did not seem nice."

"She was amazing. She warned me about my other friends. They weren't real friends. She was. She never kept anything secret. She would-"

"Bloody said-"

"You seriously believe Bloody?" Emily said, aghast. "Why would you even listen to her? She wasn't there! She didn't understand! And anyway, she's lying about Kathy. She always hated her. She killed her! What kind of person does that? She's just trying to get you to believe her! She killed my only friend, and you're just calmly playing cards with her!" Emily was shouting by now. I'd never seen her this mad before. Or mad at all. I remembered Bloody's warning. She has mood swings sometimes. Was this one of them?

When I didn't reply to Emily, she stormed to her room. I didn't see her again until the next morning.


	8. Please

p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Bloody/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Emily, please. You're being unreasonable about this./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"You're the one who pushed a girl off a building because you didn't like her!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I had my reasons. You just won't listen to them./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"No reason is good enough./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Uh-huh. Sure. Let's face it, you're not mad at me. You're scared of me./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Just leave me alone./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Not until you've learned to accept what happened. You can't keep this up. Pushing people away, staying home all the time. Practicing your horn because you have nothing to do, nowhere to be. I thought it was bad when Kathy was arou-/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"You wouldn't know! And, as a matter of fact, I was quite happy when Kathy was around! You ruined my life! I hate you!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Emily, if you were happy, why am I here?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Just go away./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Face it, Emily. You created me when you were scared and confused. You didn't want Kathy around anymore. I got rid of her. That's all./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Go away!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I'm here to help you, Emily. Don't push me away so much./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I hate you./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Emily, please./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Just go./span/p 


	9. Argue

Jack

After I showed her in the vlog, my viewers started insisting Emily play games with me. After our little spat, I wasn't sure about asking, but I knocked on her door anyways.

"Emily?" I called.

"A moment longer, Sean," Bloody called from inside. "Please."

"Get out!" Emily roared. I frowned. I didn't think the two could be separate. I thought they shared, like Anti and I did. But there were definitely two voices there.

"Emily, this is getting ridiculous," Bloody said calmly. "You know you need the help. You just can't accept it. Please, I can help you."

"You did this to me!" Emily yelled back, hysterical. "You killed her! She was the only friend I had…" Her voice broke mid sentence and she started sobbing.

"Let's be honest here," Bloody replied, her voice becoming hard and cold. "Kathy was the reason you had no other friends. Had they ever wronged you before? Did you really have any good reason not to trust them? I tried to warn you. Kathy was dangerous to you."

"She wasn't! You are!"

"She cut you off. She disconnected you from your family. She got rid of all your friends. She ruined your relationship with your boyfriend. She kept you trapped in what you call a friendship, but what I call an addiction. Emily, you know how horrible she was. I know when you're lying to yourself. You can't fool me."

For a few moments, it was quiet except for Emily's sobbing. Then I heard a growl and the sound of a pocketknife being opened. Suddenly scared, I opened the door.

Emily was sitting on her bed, with her back against the wall, her knees against her chest, and a blanket around her shoulders. Bloody was crouched on the other side of the room, facing the wall, playing around with a pocketknife. Her usual smile was gone, replaced with a mask of anger. She looked up at me as I stepped into the room. "Sean, back me up, here," she said.

"He doesn't understand! Neither of you do!" Emily almost screamed.

"Emily, calm down," I said softly. Emily didn't stop crying, but she looked up at me.

"You're right, we don't understand," Bloody said, standing. "And if you don't communicate, we never will. Tell you what. Sean, see if you can get her to talk. I'm going out."

"Out where?" I asked.

"Just out," she replied, walking straight through the wall.

I sat down on the bed next to Emily, who wrapped her blanket closer around her shoulders. "What's wrong?" I ask.

She gulps for a moment before answering. "I'm scared," she replies.

"Of what?"

"Of her. I don't know what she'll do most of the time. She killed my only friend. I didn't know if she would do it again. I haven't really been with people at all since Kathy died. Who would I be with, anyways?"

I sat quietly, waiting. Emily went on.

"The worst part is, she's right. Kathy cut me off. I haven't talked to my family in years. I don't know if I still have my friends' numbers. My boyfriend is who-knows-where. The only reason I agreed to her idea about having a roommate was I wanted a new friend who didn't know about Kathy, or about Bloody. I wanted someone to be normal with for a change. Then she shows up in front of you, and now I'm just scared."

"Why?"

"Because it occurred to me that she just wanted someone else to come so she could kill them."

"Emily, Bloody isn't just a murderer."

"How do you know? You've only known her for a couple days!"

"She could easily kill anyone off the streets. Why bring someone into the apartment?"

"I don't know."

I sighed, then stayed quiet for a few moments, thinking about how to help. What would I do to distract myself? I thought. The answer was pretty obvious. Video games.

I put my hand on her shoulder. "Wanna come record with me?"

She looked up, confused. "Record?"

"For my channel. Some of the people watching want to meet you. Maybe a game will help get your mind off of things."

Emily took a shaky breath and nodded. "Okay."

I led her to my room and set up the recording stuff. I let her pick the game, and she chose Gang Beasts. I had never done a local multiplayer of it before. Oughtta be fun.

Starting the recording, I did my three-two-one-clap to sync, then began.

"Hwa-poosh! Top o' the mornin to ya, laddies! My name is Jacksepticeye, and welcome back to Gang Beasts!"


	10. Gaming

Bloody

I wandered awhile, but I kept tabs on how Emily was. I wanted to know if Sean could help. So I noticed when Emily calmed down, and even began to cheer up, occasionally flashing mild anger, frustration, and triumph. Curious, I walked back to the apartment, staying invisible. If Sean was succeeding in helping, I didn't want to interrupt.

But when I got there, I heard shouting. Sean was especially loud, but volume-wise, Emily was holding her own.

"Ha! Gotcha!" Emily yelled.

"Leggo of my foot!" Sean shouted back, his Irish accent prominent.

I found them in Sean's room, standing next to his desk and playing some sort of wrestling game. I could have interrupted, but I looked at Emily's face first.

I hadn't seen her genuinely smile in years.

I smiled myself as I watched her eventually get defeated in the game. She yelled, she swore, she got all worked up, but the smile was still there, hidden under her frustration. And I could feel the happiness coming from her. Something about the game, or Sean, or both, was making her happy. And in the end, that was what I wanted.

I walked into our room and sat on the bed, waiting. I didn't want to interrupt. She deserved a few minutes without me. I wonder if Sean got her to say anything. I hoped so, but I doubted it.

Emily came back soon, still smiling. She took one look at me and stopped, the smile fading.

"So," I said calmly, "what's for supper?"

Jack

Supper was lasagna. Emily turned out to be a good cook. She left her room a little shaken and told me on the way to the kitchen that she was craving lasagna. So she made some, and I partook of it.

We talked about this and that. Nothing important. Emily seemed slightly shaken, but otherwise okay. Bloody was behaving herself.

Anti was not.

He'd started acting up while I was playing with Emily, but that was mostly just mild stirrings. At the end of the meal, he starting pushing to get control. Something was scaring him, and when he was scared, he lashed out. I suddenly felt an intense, stabbing pain, right on the back of my head. The plate I was carrying crashed to the floor.

"Sean?" Emily said, concerned. I held on to the back of my head, trying to keep Anti off, but the pain was building steadily. I looked at Emily.

"Run," I said, right before I blacked out.


	11. Panic

Bloody

I was asleep, nestled into my place in Emily's head, when I suddenly felt her push past me, shoving me to wakefulness. In my disoriented state, all I registered was panic. Absolute panic.

Too confused to open my eyes, I chuckled. The chuckle was my first defense; a rich, deep sound, calculated to inspire fear. Sometimes, if I was lucky, the sound would make the attacker to scared to fight, and I could talk my way out. Otherwise, it made them less likely to fight well.

I chuckled for a few moments as my head cleared, then opened my eyes to see Sean. Pinning my arm to the floor. And holding a knife. Well, then.

Wait, that's not Sean, I thought, looking closer. His eyes were bright green, not blue. I had spent enough time as an alternate to know the difference.

"You know, boy, you're not the only one here with a knife," I said calmly, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a knife of my own, opening it one-handed.

The alternate snarled and raised his knife higher in readiness, but before he could do anything, I threw my knife. It spun across the floor, ending up ten feet away from us, under the couch. Out of reach.

"However," I continued, as the alternate's green eyes remained on the path of the discarded knife, "you are the only one here who wants to hurt anyone." Reaching up with my unpinned arm, I placed one finger on the flat of his knife blade and pushed gently, trying to bring the knife to the ground. His gaze snapped back to me, and he growled, holding tightly to the handle of the knife. I lowered my arm.

"Put the knife down, hun," I said. I kept my voice low and soothing, and fought to keep my arm still, though it longed to reach up and throttle this paranoid motherfucker.

He crouched over me for a few moments more, uncertain. I laughed, startling him.

"No one wants to hurt you here, dahlin'," I said, using a Southern accent on the last word. "If I'd wanted to hurt you, I would've at least kept the knife."

He hesitated a moment longer, then threw his knife under the couch as well. He stayed crouched on top of me, but hey, he trusted me enough to put his knife away. Progress was progress.

"Now that we can talk on more civilized terms," I said, "I want to ask you something." I thought a moment about how to word it. "You're obviously not Sean. You're an alternate, like me. As such, you do not have a proper name. So what does Sean call you?"

"Anti," the alternate replied after a moment.

"Hello, Anti," I said, smiling pleasantly. "My host is Emily, and she calls me Bloody. Despite the circumstances, it is very nice to meet you. Now, could you let me up?"

After a moment more of looking suspicious, Anti stood, allowing me to do the same. I did so slowly but casually, not wanting to alarm him or show fear. Smiling briefly at him, I walk over the the coffee table, picked up my deck and started shuffling.

"Care to join me for a game of Stealing Bundles?" I asked.

Jack

Sleep in my own mind might be pleasant normally, but not now. Emily was right there, and she was scared. I had to help her.

But I was too tired.

I couldn't wake up. I kept trying, but Anti held me down.

I should sleep normally and gain strength, but I couldn't stop trying to wake up long enough to sleep.

Oh God, I hope Emily is okay.

He's smiling. What happened? I need to wake up!


	12. Bundles

Bloody

"Why should I play a game?" Anti asked, still wary.

I smiled at him. "Because that way, I can get to know you better. Having someone as your opponent in a card game is the best way to share information." I had learned that with Sean. None of our conversations came as easily as the ones over cards.

"What's in it for me?"

"Information about me."

"And if I lose?"

"A feeling of disappointment."

"If I win?"

"A feeling of triumph."

"If I refuse?"

I stared at him. "I'm not going to force you to play a card game. It's only a game, Anti. No high stakes, no win-or-die you choose not to play-" I saw him flinch, as if expecting a blow "-then I'll put the deck away and we can talk without it."

He seemed somewhat confused. Then something occurred to me, and I laughed. "You're a fighter," I said. "You're used to anything and anyone being an enemy. You protect Sean at all costs. You are suspicious of everyone. But let me assure you, neither you nor your host is in any danger while they are here. I happen to like Sean, and he and Emily are getting quite close. Now come, sit, and play awhile."

Uncertain as he was, he was also curious. He walked over to the couch and sat. I dealt each of us four cards and placed four more on the couch between us.

"It's your turn first, so look at your hand and-" I burst out laughing as he held up his hand and looked at his palm.

"Okay," I said, wiping tears from my eyes, "looks like we're starting with the basics. When I say your 'hand', I mean the cards that you have. This," I indicated the four cards he hadn't yet picked up, "is your 'hand' in a card game. We also have these things called 'turns', where the players go one at a time to 'make a move', or perform an action. Does that make sense?"

"Yes," he said calmly, slightly ashamed.

"Okay, pick up your hand, but don't let me see what cards you have."

"Why not?"

"You don't want me to know what you can do."

"Why?"

"It makes winning easier for me."

He picked up his cards carefully, holding them close.

"Okay, the object of the game is to have a bigger bundle. What you want to do is look at your hand and see if any of the cards have the same number or face as one of these four in the middle."

"Face?"

I rooted through the deck for a moment. "These are the face cards," I said. "Jack, queen, and king."

And so it went on. Anti got confused multiple times, but he soon got the hang of the game. However, it was mostly a game of luck, not skill, so I won the round. Anti was slightly scared when he found out he lost, but relaxed again when I asked if he wanted to play another round.

Without my instruction getting in the way, we could finally converse over the cards.

"What kind of a name is Bloody, anyway?" He asked, as he stole my bundle.

I shrugged. "She said something about me being a reflection of her and started calling me Bloody Mary, or Bloody for short. You?"

"Well, on YouTube, Sean's name is Jacksepticeye, but everyone calls him Jack. Some of his fans made up a character called Antisepticeye, and he liked it, so he named me after it. Anti."

I smiled as I lay down my last card, then picked up the deck and dealt a new hand. "It must be weird to have fans."

"It is. For him, at least. I don't have fans. Everyone just says I'm evil." He shrugged and picked up my card. "He's always complaining to me about how he can't spend as much time with each fan as he wants because there are too many of them."

"To which you reply…"

"Usually, 'oh hush'. But sometimes I just tease him."

I laugh, and Anti smiles for the first time since I met him. Then he grimaces.

"Sean's coming back, but I've only got one more card."

"In that case," I replied, grinning and stealing his bundle, "I shall have this off you."

He smiled back at me and replied, "Joke's on you," as he swiftly stole it back. Then he groaned and held his head, breathing hard.

"All right there, hun?" I ask innocently as he looked back up, his eyes back to blue.

"What the hell happened?" Sean asked urgently, rubbing his head and staring confusedly at the cards in front of him.

"You hadn't introduced us to Anti yet. I like him. He's a sweetheart."

"Where's Emily?"

"Anti tried to kill her. She panicked and threw me in his way. I talked him down and taught him the basics of card games. Poor guy didn't even know 'go fish'."

"A guy nearly killed you, and you played cards with him?"

"Well, what else am I supposed to do? Kill him?"

"Given your reputation…"

"That was one time, Sean. One time!"

He laughed, and I grinned. His laugh was infectious.

All right, Emily, I thought, it's safe to come out. Sean's here. Everything's okay. And by the way, his name was Anti.

This time, I blacked out with no pain as I allowed Emily to take back control.


	13. Knives

Bloody

 _Bloody, wake up._

What?

 _Sean wants to invite a friend to stay with us for a while._

Who?

 _Some guy named Mark._

When?

 _In a few days._

Does he know about me?

A pause. _Yes._

Does he want to meet me?

Another pause. _He does._

Okay. Figure out where he'll sleep.

 _Couch?_

There's an air mattress in the closet. If he wants, he can sleep on Sean's floor on that. Might be more comfortable.

Pause. _That'll work. You don't object?_

No. I don't see why I would. And you? You ready to have company?

 _Yeah. I think I can handle it._


	14. Guest?

Bloody

 _Bloody, wake up._

What?

 _Sean wants to invite a friend to stay with us for a while._

Who?

 _Some guy named Mark._

When?

 _In a few days._

Does he know about me?

A pause. _Yes._

Does he want to meet me?

Another pause. _He does._

Okay. Figure out where he'll sleep.

 _Couch?_

There's an air mattress in the closet. If he wants, he can sleep on Sean's floor on that. Might be more comfortable.

Pause. _That'll work. You don't object?_

No. I don't see why I would. And you? You ready to have company?

 _Yeah. I think I can handle it._


	15. Meeting

Jack

"She's okay with it."

"And you?"

"I never saw any reason to object." Emily smiled. "Thanks for asking, though. We have an air mattress in the closet we can blow up for him, or he can take the couch. How long will he be staying?"

"A week, then back to America." I grimaced uncomfortably. "I'm going with him. There's a gaming convention that weekend. I'm gonna be there to meet fans and stuff."

She frowned. "Is that normal for you? To have fans?"

"Definitely doesn't feel normal. Will you be okay here alone?"

"I won't be alone. Bloody."

"That's what I'm worried about. You still don't trust each other, and I won't be here to mediate. Will you be okay?"

"How long will you be gone?"

"I'll be back late Monday night. You'll be okay, right?"

"I've dealt with Bloody for a few years now. I can handle a weekend."

She had a point, but I couldn't shake the feeling the two were a little tense with each other at the moment. Usually, when I hate someone, I distance myself until I calm down. That's not easy when the person you hate is literally in your head.

But for the sake of my fans, I had to go. And I would have to go again. I might as well see if Emily can handle it.

So I recorded extra, set up an air mattress for Mark, and waited for him to get there. It would be his first time in Ireland. Usually, I went to visit him in L.A., because we were going to some convention or other in America. But he wanted to visit and meet Emily and Bloody.

I went and picked up Mark at the airport, discussing a few local multiplayer collabs we could do, and even one we could do with Emily. He was curious as to what caused Bloody to come up, as we thought it best to avoid her after the FNAF fiasco. The viewers had accepted the "got over the jumpscare" explanation, but that had been nerve-wracking.

When I opened the door, I half expected Bloody to be there with her card deck, but instead, Emily sat on the couch. She got up, smiling, and shook hands with Mark.

"Lasagna's in the oven," she said. We'd delayed dinner so Mark could eat. I knew him. He could practically eat the whole pan himself.

"Sounds good," Mark said. "'Course, anything but peanuts sounds good coming right off a plane, but still."

Emily laughed. A full, head-thrown-back laugh, something I had heard very rarely. She'd done it while playing Gang Beasts. Bloody had laughed, but this was lighter, happier. Bloody's had always been slightly evil.

The lasagna was delicious, and as expected, Mark ate most of it. Then, we sat on the couch and chatted awhile, but Emily soon said she was tired and headed off to bed.

Mark started to do the same, but I grabbed his arm. "Wait," I whispered. He gave me a confused look, but sat back down on the couch.


	16. Scared

Bloody

He was here. The friend of Sean's. I wonder if he's still up. Probably not, he did say he was going to bed when Emily left. But she was asleep now, and I wanna explore.

I moved through the door and heard whispering. In the instant it took me to turn my head towards the living room, my knife was in my hand and about to open. I crept towards the living room, the switchblade coming smoothly out of its handle. I definitely heard whispering.

When I reached the room, however, I realized that of the two voices whispering, one was Sean. The other was close to him. The friend. What was his name again?

Mark. Hello, Mark, it's lovely to meet you, considering you are the second person to know about me. Except for Emily, and she doesn't count.

Mark was big. That was my first impression. He was a couple inches taller than Sean, but while Sean was slight and slightly elvish, Mark was broad-shouldered and well-muscled. He looked like he could pound me into the ground. Not without getting stabbed, of course, but he was still intimidating. And the black hair did not help.

Making myself visible, I let Mark see me put my knife away. "I thought you'd be asleep."

"Yeah, me too," Mark replied, looking a little more than mildly disturbed.

"Mark," said Sean, "this is Bloody. Bloody, this is Mark."

"Pleasure," I said calmly. I chuckled as Mark extended his hand. "I would, Mark, but I can't." I reached out and allowed Mark to try and shake it, but his fingers closed around what felt like empty space. He frowned, confused.

I laughed then. I laughed at this Mark, with his deep voice and black hair. I laughed at his muscles and his height. I laughed at his expression, confused and scared. I laughed because this guy just radiated danger, and he was terrified.

Of me. Of my knife. Of my name.

So I laughed. And then I vanished, leaving them with an echo of my laugh as I went to see the play just down the street. Romeo and Juliet. And oh, my God, Mercutio was fucking brilliant.


	17. Better

Jack

Mark was reasonably freaked out when he went to bed. I had never seen Bloody act like that. She seemed to want to always impress people, but she normally didn't try to intimidate them. The knife, the laugh, the display with the hand. She was scaring Mark, maybe on purpose.

Why would anyone want to scare Mark, though? Mark was sweet. He was big, but-

That was it. Bloody was Emily's measure of protection. When Anti threatened her, Bloody came out to talk him down and hurt him if necessary. When Kathy was hurting Emily, Bloody came to her rescue.

Mark was a big guy. He didn't exactly look easy to take in a fight. Bloody had probably decided to be ready to protect Emily from the stranger in her house, only to find that it was someone as big as Mark.

Bloody was intimidating Mark to make sure he didn't hurt Emily. Which meant I would have to keep an eye on both of them.

This was going to be a long ass week.

Nonetheless, we both soon fell asleep. Mark slept on the air mattress on the floor, and I slept in my bed. Emily was out like a light already, and Bloody was who-knows-where.

Before I closed my eyes, I called for Anti to discuss Bloody's behavior. He agreed with my theory and said he would have done the same for me, only he might have kept his knife out rather than just let Mark see it.

When I asked him to help me protect Mark, he hesitated.

What?

 _I don't know if I can._

What do you mean?

 _She's good. Really good. I doubt I can beat her._

You're the best fighter I know!

 _She's better._

That was when I realized Mark was probably in a bit of trouble. He was strong, but if even Anti was worried about Bloody beating him, Mark probably had no chance.

The next morning, I left the two alone for maybe two seconds to get breakfast before I heard the thud.


	18. Mediator

Bloody

I was aware of four sensations. My head throbbed; something hit me on the back of the head. My back was against a wall, my feet didn't touch the ground, and…

An arm was pressed against my collarbone and shoulders. Strong. Big.

A deep, velvety voice growled, "If you hurt Jack, if you give him so much as a bruise, I will strangle you."

I raised my eyelids and looked Mark right in his black eyes, stealthily reaching into my pocket as I did so. "And if you don't let me down this instant, _Mark,_ " I hissed his name as I brought my knife up next to his hand, "I will break your arm and take a finger or two as penance."

Mark hesitated a moment too long. I slashed my knife across his arm, just enough to cut the skin and get blood on the blade. "I'm not dicking around," I said through clenched teeth when he flinched.

He let me down. He was a couple inches taller than me, but I used this to my advantage, letting my head tilt forward until I was glaring from under my eyebrows. Then I smirked, and his wariness turned to fear as he backed up a couple paces.

At that moment, Sean came skidding into the room. I knew what a sight we must be. The two of us were staring each other down. Fresh blood remained on the knife I kept clenched in my hand, and a small stream of more blood ran down Mark's arm. His chest heaved, and I retained my murderous smirk.

"All right, Bloody, just calm down," Sean urged me. I didn't look at him.

"Jack, could you tell her I don't want to hurt her?" asked Mark.

"How about we talk normally, and not go through a mediator like cowards?" I said, my voice rising as I approached Mark with my knife in front of me. He backed up farther. "I'll tell you this directly; if you so much as _touch_ Emily again, I will slit your throat!"

"Bloody, what the hell are you talking about?" Sean said, wide-eyed. "No one wants to hurt Emily!"

I finally turned to look at him. "She only called me because Mark shoved her against the fucking wall!"

"Oh, sure, she called you!" Mark yelled.

"Yes, she called me, because you scared her!" I shouted back. "You literally pinned her against a wall and then proceeded to threaten her! You could have killed her!" I stepped forward, coming quite close to Mark, who was now backed against a wall. "I'm here to protect her, at any cost." My voice dropped as I leaned in and muttered, "And I didn't shirk from killing before. If you try anything like that again, I will not hesitate to eliminate you."

"Bloody, no one is killing anyone," Sean said, exasperated and slightly fearful. "Put the knife down."

I glared at him for a moment, then wiped the knife off on my shirt before folding it up and putting it in my pocket.

"That's better," Sean said, shaken. "Now, what the fuck is going on?"

"Mark decided to pin Emily against the wall," I said, staying where I was. "Emily freaked out and called me for help."

Mark glared down at me. "Don't try to pin this on me. I know exactly what your behavior was last night. You've got something funny planned, and if it involves Jack, I'm gonna have to stop it."

I look back at him, exasperated. "Stop pretending to be the fucking hero, Mark. I've had a week and a half to hurt Sean, and I haven't even found a reason to. Besides, can you blame me? The new roommate brings a friend, and I know I have to have an eye out, only to find that it's someone like you."

"What do you mean, 'someone like me'?" Mark said, his voice escalating in pitch.

"Look in a mirror!" I shot back.

"Bloody, I think maybe you should leave," Sean said. "Let me and Mark talk this out."

I glared for a moment, then stormed off to Emily's room. She was asking to be let out, but there was no way I was going to switch with that man there. No, she would stay in my mind, where she was safe.


	19. Intimidating

Jack

"Mark, when she says someone like you, she probably means as intimidating as you."

"But I'm not intimidating! I'm a sweetheart!"

"She doesn't know that. She exists to protect Emily from everything. You are the second person she's met, and you're not only taller than she is, but you look stronger. She's scared of you, and she's dealing with that the only way she knows how."

"By scaring me."

"Exactly. By the way, why did you pin Emily against the wall?"

"I honestly thought it was Bloody."

"Look for the eyes, Mark."

"Oh, right. Hers becomes blue?"

"Blue."

"Okay." There were a few moments of silence. "What should I do now?"

"Apologize, I guess? You were trying to protect me, weren't you? She probably gets that. Go on."

So Mark apologized to Emily and Bloody while I finally finished breakfast, but I then realized I had been subconsciously holding Anti back for the last ten minutes. He was not known for backing down. Seeing Mark face off with a knife-holding Bloody worried him. I held my head as it began to hurt, escalating from throbbing to piercing.

Footsteps approached, and a voice said, "Jack?" Then I blacked out.

Bloody

I heard Mark call for Jack, then yell. Emily ran into the living room, then turned over control at the sight of Sean holding a knife and coming towards our room. Behind him, I saw Mark knocked out on the floor.

I chuckled. "Put the knife down, hun."

Anti hesitated. Then he roared and charged.

I darted to the side. He stopped his momentum and thrust out, trying to stab me. I grabbed his wrist in both hands and twisted his hand, forcing him to spin so his arm was behind his back. I laughed as I brought my knife up and held it next to his neck. We had had this fight so many times it felt choreographed.

"You still haven't told Sean you're wandering around at night, have you?" I asked him.

"What the hell was going on?"

"Oh, you mean the little stand-off?" I laughed again. "A simple misunderstanding."

"There was blood on your knife."

"He pinned me against a wall and I nicked his arm. No big deal. And if you were really concerned about him, you wouldn't have knocked him out."

"I was scared it would escalate. Sean was right there; you could have hurt him."

"Bullshit. You of all people should understand that I don't actually want to hurt anyone. After all, you don't either."

"Yes, but I've hurt people before."

I finally let go of his arm. "I've killed before, but that doesn't mean I enjoyed it."

He turned around and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Okay, I enjoyed it a little," I admitted, "but that was different. She was a bitch."

He laughed, a rare occasion that he had never done in the flesh before.

The two of us had found that our time together was constricted by Sean and Emily, so instead, we discovered we could meet up at night. We couldn't play cards, but we could talk, and we could fight. I beat Anti every time.

I put my knife away and sat on the floor of the hallway, and Anti followed suit. "So what happened between you and Mark?" He asked.

"Well, I may or may not have been a little scared when I saw that the new person to be staying at the apartment was the size of a bear, and I acted a little defensively. Mark freaked out and thought I meant to hurt Sean. He pinned me against a wall and threatened me, and I nicked him to make him let me go. Sean came in and sorted it out. No one was seriously hurt."

"So Mark was trying to do my job."

"Basically."

Anti was quiet for a while, then he asked, "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Trust so easily."

I turned to look at him. "I think we just proved I don't."

He gave me an incredulous look. "You think that little spat was a big deal? He apologized and you just went 'okay' and trusted him! And when we met, I was literally pinning you down and holding a knife. You didn't even threaten me. Hell, you threw your own knife away! Then you talked to me and got me to play cards!"

I laughed, then thought for a moment. "I guess it just never occurred to me not to trust someone until Mark. Bear in mind, he's the second person I've technically met. Still, I just… I think I usually worry so much about whether someone will like me that I'm not usually concerned about whether I should like someone."

He chuckled. "That's kind of hard for me to imagine. I've been suspicious of everyone my whole life."

I saw him suddenly wince. "Time to go?"

He gave me a half-hearted smirk. "He always gets scared when I'm happy."

"Yeah, Emily's a little nervous, too. See you later, okay?"

He smiled at me, and we both gave in.


	20. Play-Fight

Jack

I woke up sitting on the hallway floor. Emily sat next to me. Neither of us had any idea how we'd gotten there. Emily had missed the entire episode between Mark and Bloody, and I'd had to explain what happened. Then I panicked and looked in the living room.

Mark was lying on the floor, out cold. His arm had stopped bleeding, but there was still blood everywhere. We propped him up and I ran to the bathroom, grabbed a washcloth, and ran it under the tap for a moment. Coming back, I cleaned the blood off Mark's arm.

It occurred to me to ask Emily whether the name Bloody came from her fondness of knives. But when I did ask, Emily just smiled.

"Actually, Bloody is short for Bloody Mary," she said. "I call her that because she reminded me of a story I read about a girl and her reflection. And she kind of gave me that vibe, like she's mostly just my reflection. So I started calling her Bloody Mary, or just Bloody for short. She didn't learn to knife fight until later."

"When did she learn?"

"When I was in college, she was entranced by the concept. She got me to let her take over for a half-hour every week in exchange for her staying quiet the rest of the week. The deal lasted a whole year. Then I graduated and moved, and she couldn't get to the lessons anymore. It frustrated her like you wouldn't believe."

"How good is she?"

"Very. She was the top of the class when she left, and it wasn't exactly full of idiots. She nearly got kicked out once, though. She gave her opponent a small cut."

"Ow."

"Yeah." Emily stopped as Mark groaned and winced.

We helped Mark sit up and Emily fetched an ice pack for his head while I apologized over and over and Mark insisted it was fine. His speech was slightly slurred, but that was just how he talked sometimes, so I didn't worry about it.

Mark apologized to Emily once we got him up on the couch. Emily had looked at the bump on his head and decided no permanent harm was done. To any of us.

Still, I wondered at what happened when Emily and I were out. Last I remembered, Anti was headed for Emily's room and Mark was on the floor. Then I was sitting on the floor with Emily, and the knife was put away. I had felt Anti happy, something I always thought was bad news, but now I wondered if it was just Emily. Or maybe Bloody. Maybe he just liked being with them. One or the other talked him down, at least.

Something occurred to me.

Anti, when you said Bloody was better, what did you mean?

 _I meant she was a better fighter. What else?_

How do you know?

Anti was quiet. _I learned Bloody's trick._

What trick?

 _She can leave Emily behind when Emily falls asleep. I can do the same. We've been meeting up at night and fighting to practice. She beats me every time, but I'm getting better._

Why didn't you tell me?

 _You hardly ever talk to me._

You need me to initiate conversation?

 _No, but you get really annoyed when I do it._

Point taken.

The day was otherwise normal, and I did a local multiplayer with Emily and Mark for one of my videos, so the day sort of rounded of as average.

In the middle of the night, I woke up with a headache and a sharp pain on my cheek, just above my jaw. I heard Bloody laugh in the hallway and someone else growl.

It took me a moment to realize the cause of my headache. Anti wasn't in my head, and the drop in pressure made me feel awful. Rubbing the back of my head, I got up and walked around Mark's bed, almost snickering at his sleep face. Opening the door to the hall, I saw the weirdest sight.

Bloody, her back to me, was facing off against a man that looked like me, only his eyes were a deep green. He held Anti's knife in one hand and clutched his jaw with the other. Blood slowly dripped from between his fingers from a cut just above his jawline. More blood decorated the tip of Bloody's knife.

The man looked straight at me, but Bloody just said, "Not bad, but remember; if I can cut your face, most likely I am just as capable of getting your neck." Bloody noticed the man's gaze and turned. "Sean! I don't believe you have been properly introduced." She beckoned me over. "This is your alternate, the one called Anti."

"Hello," Anti said, reaching out to shake my hand. His fingers passed right through mine. Bloody laughed.

"Go back to bed, Sean. You could use the sleep." Emily turned back to Anti, taking back up her position. "Remember, Anti," she said, sounding an awful lot like an instructor, "I know they say offense is the best defense, but if you don't defend yourself properly, you'll die in a few swipes. We are not octopi; floundering leaves your whole body open to the knife. Let's try it again."

I turned and went back into my room as Anti and Bloody began to circle, ready to fight again.


	21. Gone

Bloody

Anti improved every night, as he slowly learned to block and dodge, rather than just attack whenever possible. He managed to almost get me a couple times. However, he was still too dependent on his knife. I kept telling him that he has other weapons. Arms, legs, fists, whatever is necessary. Hell, get in a good punch to the nose, and disarming your opponent becomes quite easy.

However, I only had a few more nights with Anti before he left with Mark and Sean to go to some convention or other, and he wouldn't be able to practice over the weekend, so I would have to wait for him.

That was okay. I am patient. I can wait.

However, one night, he didn't show up. I didn't know where he was. I stood in the hallway, twirling my knife while I waited. Maybe Sean was having a late night.

When it got past four in the morning, I grew impatient. What the hell was Sean doing? Frustrated at being deprived of my practice, I stormed through the door to their room.

Mark was snoring on his air mattress, but Sean wasn't there. I stood just inside the room, confused. Where was he? And why was the window open?

I walked through the house, growing more confused with each step. Sean was nowhere to be found.

I walked towards the room I share with Emily, meaning to wake her up and tell her Sean was gone. But I stopped when I reached the door.

 _Emily needs her sleep,_ I thought. _Same with Mark._ It could wait until morning.


	22. Help

Jack

 _Sean, let me go._

I don't know how!

 _Just relax. You do it all the time; whenever you fall asleep. Go on, just relax. Pretend you're in your bed._

But I can't risk going to sleep!

 _I'll wake you up once I'm out. Please, Sean._

I'm trying! Shut up!

 _I'm gonna try to find Bloody. And you-_

I'm going to stay here, try to figure out what's going on, and wait for you to come back.

 _Right. If I find Bloody, I'll be back sooner, but I will for certain be back by tonight._

And how the hell am I supposed to know when that is?

 _I don't know. I'm sorry, but I have to get help, and as far as I know, Bloody is the only one who can see me without thinking she's hallucinating._

What about Emily?

 _Well, her too, but I thought of Bloody first._

See you tonight, then.

 _Yep. Bye._


	23. Asleep

Bloody

I heard Mark behind me walking into the kitchen at around nine while I was chewing my nails off with worry. "When did you get up?" He asked when he saw me.

"Get?" I repeated. "I've been up all night."

It took a little for Mark to respond. He probably thought it was Emily. "Where's Sean?" He said pleasantly.

"Gone."

The footsteps headed for the coffee pot halted. "Gone?"

"Gone, and Anti with him." I finally stood up and turned around to look at him.

He looked terrified, and his gaze kept flicking back to my pocket, where my knife was. "What do you mean, gone?" He asked, and his tone was suspicious.

If it wasn't for Emily, I would've laughed. _He thinks I killed them,_ I thought.

"I mean I was waiting for Anti like I always do at midnight so we could practice, and he didn't show up. So I thought, okay, Sean's having a late night. It got to four am and I got frustrated, so I walked into their room and they were gone, the window was open, and you were sound asleep on your fucking air mattress." I sighed and walked to a cupboard to grab breakfast. "Then I got back to Emily's room, and she was asleep."

"Well, yeah, if it was four in the morning, I should hope so."

"You don't understand. She wasn't waking up. I slipped back in, and she was just fast asleep. I tried to wake her up to tell her Sean was gone. I tried to get her to get food. She just slept. She's not waking up."

Mark seemed to be starting to panic. "You don't think she's, um…"

I gave him an exasperated look. "Mark, I would know if she was dead. She's just not waking up."

It was true. Emily was curled up, soundly asleep in her usual spot behind my ear. She just sat there, not moving no matter what I did. And it was freaking me out. I knew she was alive. If she was dead, the body would be too. But she just wouldn't wake up.

Mark gave me a frown. "What do you mean, you were waiting for Anti?"

"Yeah, I have a little trick where I leave Emily behind while she's asleep. I taught it to Anti. The two of us don't need sleep, so we practice knife-fighting."

"What if you hurt each other?"

"Their host would feel it, but it would heal fast."

"Host?"

"I'm Emily's alternate. She's my host. It's just the terminology I've taught myself and her."

"Makes it sound like you're a parasite."

"For all we know, I could be."

"Well, that's weird."

"Just a little. Now, this has been a fun discussion, but we have another matter to handle. Sean's gone."

"How do we know he didn't just go to the store?"

"Through the window? For five hours?"

"You sure it was through the window?"

"I was out in the hall since eleven. He didn't leave his room. You stay and see if he gets back, I'm gonna go track him down." I started towards my room.

"I'm coming too," he yelled after me.

I whirled to face him. "Mark, you'll slow me down. You can't fight, you can't walk quietly, you can't even threaten people."

"Says who?"

"I made an outrageous threat and nicked you on the arm, and you let me go. The kind of person who could help me would have called my bluff, taken my knife, and nicked me. You're pathetic." I knew it was harsh, but Mark had to stay. Emily like Mark, and she'd never forgive me for getting him killed. _When she wakes up._

Mark followed me to my room, and his eyes widened when I brought out my knife crate from under the bed. Knives of all sizes with myriad uses were carefully organized in rows. I looked at them for a moment, proud as a mother. Then I grabbed a knife in a light green sheath.

"Don't you already carry a knife?"

"What, this thing?" I pulled my little cream-colored around-the-house knife out of my pocket and tossed it to him. "Basic switchblade. Fast, easy, and silent to draw. To small for open combat. Not a long enough blade to fight off multiple people. Great for close combat if one person jumps you. Otherwise next to useless. This is a blade you want for a fight." I showed him the knife I'd taken out of the crate. "Not nearly as fast to draw, so not your best bet if you're caught by surprise. Longer, heavier blade than the switch. Best if you're against one person in open combat, but can be used for multiple. A little clumsier in close combat. That's the standard blade. Or, as my instructor calls it, the 'fight knife'."

"What about that one?" Mark asked, handing me back my switch and pointing at a longer one in a blue sheath.

"That's technically the 'long blade', but I prefer to call it the 'long-ass knife'. It's my personal favorite. Longer, thinner blade, meant for fast swings. Useless for close combat; you're more likely to skewer yourself than your opponent. But the longer blade is great for open combat, especially with multiple opponents." I frowned as I realized I might want it. I took it out of the crate, then closed it and stashed it back under the bed.

"Why do you need the knives?" Mark asked, trailing me out of the room.

"You're forgetting Anti," I replied. "If someone managed to get him and Sean out, either they were sneaky enough to get to the window while making zero noise and surprised Anti,, or they were good enough fighters to beat him into submission. Either way, bad news."

"Oh, I see."

Returning to the living room, I grabbed the jacket draped over the arm of the couch, which was a little longer than a normal jacket and colored a green so dark it was almost black. Hidden on the inside of the jacket, where the jacket's bulk could disguise them, were three sheath rings. I tucked the two knives into the first two rings and put on the jacket. I put the switch into the pocket, where it was more convenient. Just in case.

"Right, I'll be back before dark," I said, pulling open the door and habitually checking to make sure I had my key. I did.

"You're not leaving without me," Mark said, trying to wedge his foot in the door as I closed it.

I opened the door, punched him in the face and said, "Yes, I am. You stay. If you see Sean, tell him I'm looking for him, but don't send him after me. See ya."

With that, I closed the door and walked down the hall to the elevator.


	24. Back

Jack

You're back! Did you find her?

 _No, but I made it to the apartment._

And she wasn't there?

 _Mark was. He said she went looking for us._

She doesn't stand a chance.

 _I think you mean Emily doesn't stand a chance. Bloody's good. She can do it. Also, Emily appears to be out of commission._

What do you mean?

 _She fell asleep and won't wake up, or so Bloody told Mark. He says she's not dead, but she's not responding. Bloody's piloting the body, and she's ready to fight. She can make it._

Okay, but I'm not sure I want to leave my fate in her hands.

 _I am. Now get some sleep. I'm gonna try to find Bloody._

Okay. See you when?

 _Dawn._


	25. Where?

Bloody

I got back just as the sun hit the horizon. I opened the door to the apartment and was greeted by the smell of Chinese. "Any luck?" Mark called from the couch, with a box of noodles in one hand and a fork in the other.

"Yeah, actually, I found where I think they are. But the place was crawling with guards, and I was too hungry and tired to take them on. I'll get something to eat, have some sleep, and come up with a plan to get at them out in the morning." I draped my jacket back over the chair with the knives still inside their rings, but retrieved my switch from the pocket.

"Where are they?"

"Small, grey building with three rooms," I replied, walking to the kitchen. "One room has a window, to high to really see anything in it. I heard Sean talking to someone. He sounded confused, but not scared. The other rooms had no windows at all."

"Well, what's the building?"

"Some Jehovah's Witnesses church. That's why it's so weird that there were any windows at all. I doubt Sean was taken there for conversion, though." I grabbed leftover lasagna from the fridge and put it in the microwave. "I don't know what they were talking about."

"Well, Anti stopped by."

"What?"

"He walked through the wall looking for you. He said he used your little trick to get out and was trying to find you. I told him you were looking for Jack, and he described a church where they were being kept. Jack's not even tied up, but he's locked in the room with nothing but a cot and an adjoining bathroom. Neither of them know what's going on, but hopefully Jack can find out."

"Why do you call him Jack?" I asked as I took my food out and grabbed a fork.

"Most of the world calls him Jack. Very few people actually call him Sean."

"Why? It's his real name."

"You know about his YouTube channel, right?"

"Yeah, and?"

"And on YouTube, his name is Jacksepticeye."

"That is a very weird name."

"A bit. It's a nickname his friends called him in school, so now everyone calls him that. Most just call him Jack for short, though."

"Of all names, Jack?"

"Yeah, his mom always called him that when he was younger. He's used to it."

"Well, he introduced himself to me as Sean, so that is what I shall call him."

"Okay."

We sat in silence for a few moments while I ate. Then I asked between mouthfuls, "Where did Anti come from?"

"What do you mean?"

"Alternates come from somewhere. Or rather, something. I came from Emily's friend, Kathy."

"How?"

"You can ask Sean for the whole sob story, but essentially, Kathy was an abusive, manipulative bitch who hurt Emily so much that Emily created me as a defense. Eventually, I decided to get rid of Kathy, so I pushed her off a building. What happened to Sean that created Anti?"

Mark was quiet for a few moments, gathering his thoughts. "A few years ago," he began, "before he started YouTube, Jack was mugged. I know it sounds stupid, but the guys really gave him a good beating. He had to be hospitalized. When I met him, Anti was quiet. He only really freaked out once while I knew Jack. We were trying to shoot each other with nerf guns and Jack was looking at someone on the sidewalk. I snuck up on him and Anti took over. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground with Jack crouched on my chest. It was only for a few seconds. Jack came back and apologized."

"The only times I've really protected Emily were when I killed Kathy, when Anti came, and when you pinned Emily against a wall."

"I said I was sorry."

"I know. Now go to bed."


	26. Update

"Bloody, wake up!"

Waking up was harder than I thought it was. Emily had always been the one to do it. But eventually I opened my eyes to see Anti standing over me.

"Bloody, can't you come out?"

"I would, normally, but Emily's asleep and it's my job to take care of the body, and I'm not leaving it."

"Okay, but I have a problem."

"What problem?"

"Sean's not waking up."

I frowned up at him. "And? Just take over for a while."

"I can't. For some reason, I can't get in."

"Oh great." I reached up and rubbed my face. "That changes things. Anti, could you provide a distraction tomorrow morning? Mark and I are going to break in."

"Don't bring Mark into this!" Anti looked a little panicked. "He can't fight!"

"Oh well," I snapped back. "If Sean can't get his own ass off a bed, I need someone to help me. Now can you provide a distraction?"

Anti hesitated a moment, but he knew better than to argue. "Yes," he said.

I sighed and turned over. "For tonight, just stay over there and plan a distraction. In the morning, we'll meet you on the top of the hill."


	27. Plan

Mark was asleep on his stomach. I prodded his side with my foot. It was eight o'clock in the morning, and I was itching to go. "Mark, wake up."

Mark eventually rolled over, rubbing his face and squinting at me. "What is it?"

"Up you get. Come on. We need to get going."

"'We'?"

"Yes, 'we', kemosabe." I stopped prodding and started to head out the door. "Now get some clothes on."

Walking across the hall, I pulled the knife crate back out from under the bed. I grabbed a throwing knife and went to the living room. I replaced the switch in the pocket of the jacket and put the throwing knife in the third ring. Then I sat and waited.

A few moments later, Mark came out of Sean's room, still sleepy. "What's going on?"

"There's been a change of plans," I explained calmly. "Sean isn't waking up, and Anti has been cut off from the body. Meaning I can't just break in and bust Sean out. I have to carry him, and I can't carry someone and fight at the same time. Hell, I don't even think I can carry a grown man. I'm not that strong. So I need you."

He gave me a confused look. "But I can't fight."

"I will fight our way in and out. I just need you to run in with me and carry Sean out."

"You said it was crawling with guards."

"Well, since he can't fight when he's not in the body, Anti will be a distraction instead. He will lure most if not all of the guards away."

"Okay, so when do we leave?"

"Now." I stood up and zipped up my jacket.

"What about breakfast?"

"We'll be back in an hour. You can eat then." I grabbed two apples and tossed one to him. "To keep your stomach from growling while we're hiding."

"Do I get a knife?"

"I don't trust you with one. You'll just skewer yourself."

"Well, then." Mark followed me out the door.

After a ten minute walk, we stood on one side of the hill where I said I would meet Anti. Anti was walking down towards us. "Ready?" He asked.

"Yup," I replied. Anti nodded and started running.

Mark and I walked casually up the hill. "Don't look at the church," I said.

"Why not?"

"We don't want to look like we're doing anything. If we just glance at it, the guard will leave us alone."

We stood calmly, waiting. "Is there something we're waiting for?" Mark asked.

"A signal."

"Anti?"

"Nope. The guards."

"What?"

"Well, we'll know when they start running the other way that they're distracted."

So we watched. Three guards were in sight, keeping an eye out. One was fresh, younger than the others. He looked around with that I'm-gonna-do-this-right-dammit look common to guards on their first day. The others had more experience standing around. They looked much more bored, and one was keeping an eye on the young one more than he was looking for intruders.

Then, suddenly, one of the older ones whipped his head around to look at the building. There was shouting on the other side. The young one started to go towards it, but one of the older ones stopped him and started after it himself, leaving two guards who kept looking back. I took the chance. Grabbing Mark's sleeve, I pushed him down the other side of the hill, out of sight, and charged toward the church.

I was on the younger one before he had time to react. Grabbing the gun in his hand, I whipped my arm around his neck and held him in a headlock, throwing the gun far away. The older guard whirled to see me holding my standard knife to his companion's throat. He brought up his gun, but I could see his hesitation.

"Don't waste your bullets," I called to him from behind the young man. "There's no point in shooting your friend."

"Why not?" The man shouted, starting to aim.

"Because a dead body catches bullets too," I pointed out. "Whether this man is dead or not, you'll never get me to drop him. He'll still be my meat shield. Don't waste your bullets, and don't waste his life."

The man stayed where he was for a few moments. "What do I do, then?" He asked, imploringly.

"Put down the gun," I said. "I won't hurt either of you if I don't have to. But my friend is in there, and I'm here to get him out."

The man wasn't too happy. He kept the gun up until I warned him again and gently pressed the blade to the young one's neck, drawing a small amount of blood. Then he put the gun on the ground and stepped back.

I lowered my knife and walked forward, not releasing my hostage until my foot was planted on the gun. Then I pushed him to the guard and yelled for Mark. Mark ran past me and into the building, giving me a frightened look as he passed. I ran after him, grabbing the gun as I went to buy us time. Eventually, the young one would find his, but for now, we were safe.

When we reached the door, it was unlocked. We ran in, and found ourselves in a large room. A table sat in the middle, with names, pictures, and information on various people. Sean was right on top. The door to his room was on the right, locked. Mark walked up to it and kicked it.

The door stayed firm. I rolled my eyes. "Don't kick the middle of the door!" I yelled. "Kick it near the lock!" Mark tried a couple more times, and succeeded in kicking the door in.

The room actually didn't look half bad. There was another door that led to a bathroom. A dresser stood in one corner, a desk in another. A decent TV sat on a cabinet against one wall. A bookshelf filled with books sat against the opposite wall. Sean himself was sprawled on a bed under the one window, which was surprisingly far up on the wall.

"Jack!" Mark said, dashing over.

"Come on, Mark, grab him and let's go."

Mark flung Sean over his shoulder and came back to me, still panting from the run in. I was barely breathing hard. _Yay, French horn lungs_ , I thought, as I led the way back to the door.

As we reached the open door, a gun fired at us. I hissed and pulled Mark to the side, out of sight. One of the bullets had grazed my arm, but barely. I pulled out my throwing knife, ready to kill one or the other. Preferably the older one. The younger one would lose his composure.

But death wasn't necessary. I only had to hit his arm. If he dropped the gun, and the other panicked, we could make it. I peered around the door and threw the knife.

My aim was true. The knife hit the older guard in the arm, piercing the muscle. Painful, but definitely not fatal. The man cried out, and the other called his name. I ran out, yelling for Mark to follow. I pulled the beautiful long-ass knife from my jacket as I charged the man, who was starting to freak out. Mark ran behind me, with Sean on his shoulder.

I reached the man as he was still trying to threaten me and slammed into him at full force. He fell backwards, and I landed on top of him. I slammed the hilt of my knife into his temple, knocking him out. CLambering off of him, I kicked the older one's gun away from him and followed Mark, who'd gotten ahead during the brief struggle. I heard more gunfire just as we passed the hill.

We got back to the apartment about half an hour after we left, mostly because we paused to catch our breaths once we were out of sight and had to take alleys to avoid Mark being seen with an unconscious man on his back. When we did get back, I felt something.

Emily. She was waking up.

I hurried to our room and stashed my knives away as fast as I could, but I could feel Emily thrash. She was half awake, groggy and terrified. She could feel the adrenaline still going through me, and it was freaking her out. Mark was across the hall, putting Sean to sleep in his own bed, so he couldn't hear me starting to fumble with my knives. Emily didn't know about the crate and I wanted to keep it that way.

I finally got the crate under the bed as the world faded to black.

Asleep, at last.


	28. Awake

Jack

Anti? Anti, where are you? Surely it's past dawn by now! Anti!

What if something happened to him? What could happen to him?

He's not here. He's always been here. We've never been separated this long before. He's gotta be here! Anti!

I woke up on my own bed, with the covers pulled up to my collarbone and Mark sitting next to me. Emily was leaning against the doorway, saying something about uploads.

"Sean?" Emily said, when she saw me open my eyes. Mark looked at me.

"What the hell happened?" I asked.

"That's what we were going to ask you," replied Mark.

"I woke up in a different bedroom-"

"Was there someone else in the bed?" Mark grinned.

"Ha ha, clever," I said. "Anyways, a guy walked in and started asking about Anti. His 'evil habits' and other bullshit. Then he gave me a pill of some sort that was supposed to 'fix' me and I blacked out. I think I partly woke up at one point, and Anti wasn't there. I don't know where he is."

"Living room," Emily replied. "Bloody said he couldn't get in the body. He was cut off, and he's a little freaked out. I can go get him, if you want."

"No, it's fine," I said. I could see Anti later. I wanted to see what was going on. "And how's Bloody?"

Emily shifted uncomfortably. "She had to take over for a bit."

"What?"

"Emily wasn't waking up," Mark said calmly. "I woke up and Bloody was sitting at the table. She had been waiting for Anti all night. Then she found out that Emily wasn't responding at all. Like when you were asleep. Bloody was taking over the body for her sake. Emily just woke up."

"Well, how long have I been out?"

"You were gone when I woke up yesterday morning. So, a little more than twenty four hours."

"Shit, I missed putting up videos!"

"I got you," Mark said. "I put up a couple of the ones you recorded for during PAX, so you're a couple videos down, but the videos went up on time. If you're up for it, we could record a couple to replace them."

"Okay," I said, pushing off the covers and standing up. Emily looked concerned, but I felt fine.


	29. Thanks

Bloody

Sean was calmly packing the day before he and Mark were set to leave for America. I knocked on the door. "Come in," he replied.

I walked in, and Jack was folding a hoodie to put in the suitcase on his bed. "Got everything?" I asked. "Clothes, toiletries, passport?"

"Yes, ma," he said, grinning. I laughed, and he started to zip up the suitcase. Then he paused.

"I wanted to say thank you," he said. I blinked. "For getting me out of that place."

"Strange," I said in reply, "because I came to thank you."

He frowned. "But I didn't do anything."

"You'd be surprised."

He sat on the bed and waited for me to continue.

"Thanks," I said again. "For coming. For staying. For helping her."

"Emily?" He said. "What did I do?"

"She needed someone here." I sat on the bed next to him. "Someone to be her friend. And you wouldn't believe how happy I am that it was someone like you."

"Like me?"

"Loud. Friendly. Ready to accept what you see and to… I guess to accept me." I smiled ruefully. "For a week before you arrived, I was terrified you'd walk in, see me, and walk right back out again. Instead, you stayed for a game of cards. And you gave me a friend of my own."

"What do you mean?"

"Anti. He's my friend. Not Emily's. Mine. Friends are hard to come by around here, and the fact that I have my own friend now…" I shook my head. "You have no idea how much it means to me.

"It's far too lonely to be with only one other person, no matter who it is. And it's even worse when that one other person is scared to death of you. You don't know what that's like. The first year with Emily was delightful. She was partly in shock from Kathy's death, but she was still in college. She had friends. She moved on, at least a little. She even trusted me enough to let me learn to knife fight. But then she graduated. Her friends vanished, and she started getting a bit paranoid about me. After a couple years of her trusting me less and less, I decided she needed to meet someone. Anyone. So I got her a roommate.

"And now look. Emily has a roommate who accepts her and me as we are. She's gotten other friends too. Mark, and Felix has gotten in contact. They're getting along famously. You've introduced her to your hobby, and she loves it. She's smiling, even laughing. I hadn't seen a genuine smile on her face in three years. She trusts me, to a certain degree. I've even just about gotten her to call her parents for once. And I have a friend."

I smiled at him. "You've changed our lives. And I know for a fact that's it's been for the better."


	30. Laughter

Jack

The next day, Emily and Bloody came in. Anti stood next to the bed.

Something had been gnawing at me all night, and I finally decided to say it.

"You know, when I was in that place," I began, "the man was talking to me about alternates and hosts." I looked up at them. "He said that often, one is good and one is evil. And I know it sounds silly, but maybe it's true."

There was silence. Then Bloody's laughter rang through the apartment.

Bloody laughed for a long time. She first stood doubled over and holding her stomach, then threw her head back and let her laughter ring forth, its sound spreading through the place and making all three of us look at her.

Finally, the laughter died down. Chuckling, Bloody wiped a tear from her eye. Then she saw the looks on our faces.

"Oh, come on!" She said in disbelief. "You believe this crap? Seriously?!"

We all just looked at her. Emily looked especially shaken.

"Okay, first, let's look at Sean." Bloody waved towards me. "He's sweet. He's friendly. He's greatly loyal. But his opinion sways too easily. When I was talking to him, he thought Emily was lying. When Emily was talking to him, he thought I was lying. In between, he probably spent hours debating who was right without stopping to consider that we both were. And now some random weirdo has him on about some good-and-evil bullshit.

"Then there's Anti. Loyal to the last. Eager to learn and stunted by his inability to go outside. Constantly turned into some 2D monster in people's minds. But willing to hurt and kill out of fear before he calms down, and a bit of a bad judge of when to appear." She bent over, putting her hands on her knees to be at eye level with me. "Does that mean he's evil?" I didn't reply.

She whirled to look at Emily. "What about her?" She said, pointing. "Affectionate. Sweet. Willing to trust. But she sees the world in black-and-white, believing for a few years that I was some sort of Hyde to her Jekyll. And she constantly hides. But she doesn't hide from her problems; no, that would make too much sense. She hides with them, constantly throwing up barriers like me that don't protect her. They just cut her off from help."

"And what about you?" I ask, rising to my feet.

Bloody smiled at me. "I am willing to go to any length to protect my Emily and her friends. I trust almost anyone I meet, and I avoid hurting as much as I can. But, I admit, I may be a little too fond of my knives, and I am a little more willing than most to see killing as a viable solution to a problem. But does that make me evil? No. Am I good? Hell no."

Bloody turned to look at Anti and Emily. "There's no such thing as 'good' and 'evil', Sean. There's flawed, in so many different ways. The world doesn't appear as black-and-white, or even as shades of grey. It is a whole spectrum of colors. Some are lighter, true, but there can be more than one color that is equally bright. That's something you," she jabbed me in the chest with one finger, still smirking, "need to learn.


End file.
